A plea from a young Apache girl

[walksalone11]

 
Alamogordo Daily News
By Twyla Rayne, For the Daily News
Posted:   05/08/2012 06:50:02 PM MDT


"I am an Apache Indian from the Mescalero reservation. Otero Mesa is more than just a place to me, it's a sanctuary. It is a place of peace, understanding and reliability not only for me, but for animals of all sorts, as far as spirits go.

I felt spiritually reborn when I visited Otero Mesa and I am concerned for its spiritual well-being.

Like a seed it needs care, patience and time. It needs nutrition. For it to be completely pure it needs natural resources to be as providing as possible. It still feeds on its instinctive well-being. Who are we to contaminate that?

My dream is to keep it pure of bad spirit, unwanted corruption and contamination, and for its natural elements to remain. It was not only a stronghold Apache fortress, but a place of spiritual renewal and visionary aspects, as well as a place of mental sanity.

I can feel it just looking at pictures and remembering the present smells, sights and calming sensations of the neutral atmosphere.

When I first got the privilege to visit the place for the first time, I was excited. I couldn't wait to go, and I knew it would mean the best to go dressed in my cultural clothing, knowing that moccasins haven't stepped foot on the natural desert terrain for generations. It was something very special to me -- a feeling that goes deep into spiritual meaning, a movement that would take away any value that money could never buy.

I could feel my ancestors' presence and was able to relive the patience of the true nature of our people, my abalone shell on my chest, the buckskin fringes on my dress, the feathers in my hair and the hide under my feet. We were one and we were home. I could feel it.

I could feel the crunch of rocks and sand underneath my feet and see the sight of the cliffs reaching for the sky. It was all too perfect, like a missing puzzle piece put into place or a diamond in the rough. Those are the best kind. I can see why wildlife are so isolated there, because it's the strength that Otero Mesa provides -- its security.

Dawn and mist hold the desert, solid cold holds the cliffs bearing thousands of exotic desert plants, rocks, grasses and carved-in petroglyphs in visions of our past. It is a place of focus, spiritual understanding and vision, and like any other colorful canvas, it is a masterpiece of Apache culture.

In my eyes, it is one of the purest in New Mexico wild land, a piece of "No Man's Land," owned truly of Apache spirit. The consumption of its natural resources and its maintained minerals will not be used for humanity needs. Never will I see this place be un-naturally treated.

Not while I'm alive.


Twyla Rayne is a direct descendant of Cochise, the great Apache leader and warrior of the 19th century. She was born and lives on the Mescalero Apache Reservation."

[jordandog]

First I need to get this out of the way and I hope you will see it, Walks. Highly unlikely if I tried to catch up to you in the other quick moving topics that you have posted in - you would never see it.
It is soooo good to see you back here, no matter how long it lasts before you take another 'RL' break! I am trying to recall, from memory, your e-mail addy and Amy's. My computer was taken over by the dreaded '2 year old granddaughter virus' (walk up to computer and start randomly hitting anything you can get your little 'paws' on and isn't that blue screen pretty when you go back to factory settings, aarrgghh!) and my e-mail account I used for that was altered and basically wiped out. I believe it is name/yahoo? Will try soon, see what happens.
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Now, onto the topic. It gives me hope for this country when I see articles like this. The fact that this young woman/girl wants her people's history to remain intact and wants to carry on tradition for her ancestors is a rarity. We should all take a lesson from this IMO. Of course, that is also how I feel about the work you do. When it seems as if most of our future 'caregivers of the land' (the younger generations) think everything is overvalued and disposable, like our traditions, our elderly and our resources, it gives me hope to see not all feel that way. I just wish the feelings and convictions she expressed in her writing could be 'implanted' in the thoughts and actions of more, many more. We non-NDN's have girls who will defend their shoe and purse collections to the death, but yet, are unable to show compassion for another human being let alone any tradition or gifts from the land....sad.

[momoney555]

What a beautiful post. I'm glad there are still places like this around.  I would love to experience it.

[walksalone11]

First I need to get this out of the way and I hope you will see it, Walks. Highly unlikely if I tried to catch up to you in the other quick moving topics that you have posted in - you would never see it.
It is soooo good to see you back here, no matter how long it lasts before you take another 'RL' break! I am trying to recall, from memory, your e-mail addy and Amy's. My computer was taken over by the dreaded '2 year old granddaughter virus' (walk up to computer and start randomly hitting anything you can get your little 'paws' on and isn't that blue screen pretty when you go back to factory settings, aarrgghh!) and my e-mail account I used for that was altered and basically wiped out. I believe it is name/yahoo? Will try soon, see what happens.
    ************************************************************************************
Now, onto the topic. It gives me hope for this country when I see articles like this. The fact that this young woman/girl wants her people's history to remain intact and wants to carry on tradition for her ancestors is a rarity. We should all take a lesson from this IMO. Of course, that is also how I feel about the work you do. When it seems as if most of our future 'caregivers of the land' (the younger generations) think everything is overvalued and disposable, like our traditions, our elderly and our resources, it gives me hope to see not all feel that way. I just wish the feelings and convictions she expressed in her writing could be 'implanted' in the thoughts and actions of more, many more. We non-NDN's have girls who will defend their shoe and purse collections to the death, but yet, are unable to show compassion for another human being let alone any tradition or gifts from the land....sad.

First I need to get this out of the way..... Hiya Darlin, was wondering if you noticed that I snuck in thru the out door again, while no one was looking, lol. Yeah try that addy....it just might work for ya.

Actually, there is a good many of our young people actively working on attempts to protect our culture. You just wont ever see any coverage of it in the main stream. I will try to post more of these positive topics in the coming days.

Thank you for your words and support, they make it very worth while to me to come on here and drop little tid-bits of knowledge in amongst my other-wise being a thorn in the side of some members.....but they make it so easy.......heh heh heh